TV-14 | 30min | Western, TV Series | Episode aired 7 January 1958
Pretending to be hardened convict, Hardie escapes from prison with a felon who stashed the proceeds from a stagecoach robbery before he was captured. The Wells Fargo detective hopes that his new partner will lead him to the hidden loot.
Director: Earl Bellamy
Writer: William F. Leicester
Stars: Dale Robertson, Edward Platt, Jim Bannon
Pretending to be hardened convict, Hardie escapes from prison with a felon who stashed the proceeds from a stagecoach robbery before he was captured. The Wells Fargo detective hopes that his new partner will lead him to the hidden loot.
Director: Earl Bellamy
Writer: William F. Leicester
Stars: Dale Robertson, Edward Platt, Jim Bannon
Category
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Short filmTranscript
00:00Doc Bell, a man hard to keep up with in more ways than one.
00:07He'd been caught, sentenced, and imprisoned six months ago for holding up the Wells Fargo office at Marysville.
00:13The money was never recovered. That's why I was with him.
00:17My name is Jim Hardy, investigator for Wells Fargo.
00:21We can't make it, Doc. We can't outrun those dogs.
00:25Maybe not, but we can outsmart them.
00:30Man's advantage over beast, Jim. The ability to reason.
00:35When the dogs get a whiff of this pepper, it'll spoil them for two days.
00:50Sooner or later, Doc was bound to head for that hidden money.
00:56Sooner or later, Doc was bound to head for that hidden money.
01:01The only thing to do was stick with him.
01:09The race is not always the swiftest. We made it, Jim.
01:14Yeah, only we're not going to run around loose very long in these.
01:19We need clothes and horses. That's going to take money.
01:24You wouldn't be getting ideas now, would you, Jim?
01:27What's that supposed to mean?
01:29A man is apt to distrust in others the things he feels in himself.
01:34There's a price of $3,000 on my head, and there's a little bit of larceny in all of us.
01:41Wouldn't make sense. I'd turn you in and then serve my ten years.
01:46That's $300 a year. No thanks.
01:50That doesn't sound reasoning. I like that in you, Jim. No sentiment, just reasoning.
01:56Manor from heaven.
02:20He's got a gun and we have him.
02:22But we have the advantage of surprise.
02:26A sock full of dirt has an anesthetic value if administered properly.
02:34I've noticed a certain grace of movement in you that I don't possess.
02:39You also noticed that six gun he was carrying.
02:47I hated to do it, but I had to go all the way.
02:50Somewhere Doc had $100,000 that belonged to Wells Fargo.
02:56Excellent.
03:05I hope he'll be all right.
03:06He won't even have much of a bump.
03:08I admire that in you, Jim. I deplore a needless waste of life.
03:12Spent too many years saving him, I guess.
03:15That's one phase of my life I don't mind seeing going up in flames.
03:19And like Phoenix, a new man rises from the ashes.
03:23I wish that were true, but it's not going to be any different.
03:27Don't tell me you changed your mind, Jim.
03:29Back there in prison you used to say, if I ever get out of this alive, I'll go straight as a string.
03:34And I would, too.
03:36What do you call a nest egg?
03:38I don't know. Just enough to get me to Mexico and live a little.
03:43Yeah, I like Mexico.
03:45I was a surgeon in the army during the war there, you know.
03:48So you told me.
03:50You don't believe me.
03:52Hardly.
03:54I don't believe you.
03:56I don't believe you.
03:58I don't believe you.
04:00I don't believe you.
04:02I don't believe you.
04:04Hardly.
04:06You know, a man like you, Jim, one who's never known respectability,
04:10you can't imagine the pull to return to it.
04:13I suppose you're right.
04:18All I know is it takes money to live up to my appetite.
04:22How much money?
04:24What's the use of talking about it?
04:26They got our picture in every Wells Fargo office from here to Canada.
04:29How much, Jim?
04:31We couldn't even get into a town, much less get out of one.
04:33What if I were to tell you I know where there's a great deal of money?
04:36Might be interesting.
04:38Why don't you try me?
04:40I'll do better than that. I'll show you.
04:42You got a crystal ball or something?
04:44Not exactly.
04:47I'm sorry.
04:50I just want to know what I'd be doing, that's all.
04:52You want to know too much, Jim.
04:55You're right.
04:57Maybe you'd better show me.
05:04Doc Bell was as hard to trap as a spring fly,
05:07but I figured he had to settle down near the money somewhere, sometime.
05:11All I could do was string along.
05:14The Bell gang had an old hideout up in the mountains.
05:17Straight up, and rock all the way.
05:21Stay close to me, Jim. These friends of mine are not apt to be hospitable.
05:34I'm sure glad to see you again, Doc.
05:36When word got around he was out, we was real pleased.
05:39Shut up, Tibbs. Who's he?
05:42His name's Jim Hollis. He made the break with me.
05:45So? Your friends don't act too glad to see me, Doc.
05:49It's greed, Jim. Pure greed.
05:51Look at them.
05:53That grin on Tibbs' face has got a dollar sign on it.
05:56It's a sign he's got a dollar sign on it.
05:59Look at them.
06:01That grin on Tibbs' face has got a dollar sign on every tooth.
06:05And Curly here, he's the prize of the two.
06:08Right now he's trying to figure out how much you'll lose if you're dealt in.
06:12Cut out the fancy talk, Doc. Is he in?
06:15You're a good judge of human nature.
06:17I pride myself on it.
06:19I asked you a question. Maybe I can answer it for you.
06:22We crawled halfway across this state together.
06:25If he says I'm in, then I am.
06:28That answer your question, Curly?
06:30As far as I'm concerned, there's plenty to go around.
06:33If Doc says he's all right, that's gospel.
06:36Quit babbling, Tibbs. We got a hand to play.
06:41Never mind about him, Jim.
06:43The truth is, we ain't made a dime since Doc got took.
06:47Whatever he says goes.
06:50There's a pair to draw, too.
06:53One snarls and shows his teeth.
06:56The other licks your hand.
06:58I'd be careful of a man with the teeth. He's got a bite.
07:02And, Jim, I'm just the man who might yell, sick him.
07:06Don't get any ideas.
07:08Like what?
07:09Oh, figuring Wells Fargo might make a deal with you.
07:12They're a ward for me.
07:14They might even make a deal with me.
07:16They're a ward for me.
07:18They might even call off the dogs where you're concerned.
07:21After seeing this company you keep,
07:24I can understand the way you think.
07:27But if I know Wells Fargo like I think I do,
07:30they're not about to call the dogs off on you or me.
07:34I guess not.
07:36I'm certain of it.
07:39Come on.
07:47Doc, if this man's gonna ride on a job with us,
07:50we got a right to know something about him.
07:53That sounds reasonable. What do you want to know?
07:55Well, you're smarter than I am. I know that.
07:57But he isn't.
07:59And I don't see any reason why we should split with him.
08:02I do. Isn't that enough?
08:04If you say so, Doc.
08:06Shut up.
08:08No. No, it isn't enough.
08:13Jim, come out here, please.
08:16Come on.
08:22There seems to be some doubt in Curley's mind as to your usefulness.
08:26You got a problem for him?
08:28Careful, Curley. Your greed might get you killed.
08:30Are you yelling, sick him, Doc?
08:32No, this is all Curley's idea.
08:35Suppose we let Curley do his own talking.
08:38I'm glad you feel that way about it.
08:40Why don't you climb on a horse now and get on out of here?
08:45They say you're fast on the draw, Curley.
08:48Go ahead. Make a draw.
08:50You do, Curley, and we'll be short a man.
08:53Thanks, Doc. But I don't need your help.
08:56Maybe not. But I need you.
08:59And I'm still running things. Is that right, Curley?
09:03Yeah. Yeah, that's right, Doc.
09:06No, it isn't right.
09:08I don't like to leave things hanging up in the air.
09:11Don't presume on my friendship, Jim.
09:14I don't intend to, Doc.
09:16Curley's got a point.
09:18Maybe I'd better show him just how useful I can be.
09:30Is that useful enough?
09:32Yeah. And that ain't bad either.
10:02Doc rode away every day with those glasses strung around his neck.
10:17There was something big in the wind.
10:19But it sure wasn't blowing my way.
10:21I could feel Curley's eyes boring into my back every move I made.
10:26That Doc, for a man who likes to talk as much as he does,
10:31he can sure keep things to himself.
10:33What do you suppose he's up to?
10:35When he wants you to know, he'll tell you.
10:38I suppose.
10:41But I hope it's a big one, like the Marysville job.
10:44What about Marysville?
10:46Doc was doing time for it.
10:48Must have been a big one.
10:50Bet you all cut up quite a hand, huh?
10:53You want to know something?
10:55We ain't seen a cent of that. Doc stashed it.
11:00He's smarter than I thought he was.
11:03You all grind the corn, he gets smashed.
11:17I couldn't hear what they were saying.
11:19But those dollar signs were in their eyes.
11:22I had them talking about the Marysville money, and that was the start.
11:38Now, we've got just two hours to go, and I don't want any mistakes.
11:44Now, the train will arrive here, give or take a few minutes, at 3.40.
11:49Wells Fargo was handling the payroll for every mine in the valley.
11:53$20,000 worth.
11:55They were after that train, and I was in on it.
12:19All right, Curly, Tim, if you know what to do, go ahead.
12:47Jim, pick up the horses.
13:01All right, drop your gun.
13:10Are you all right, Gibbs?
13:11Yeah, I'm all right.
13:12Better hurry, Doc.
13:13That's right. They're certain to have heard those shots in town.
13:15There'll be a posse after us before you know it.
13:17Don't worry about it. You and Curly bring that box down here.
13:29Jim!
13:30That's right. Jim Hollis.
13:32You didn't expect to see me out of the pens so soon, did you?
13:35No, no I didn't.
13:40There's a small matter of ego involved here, friend.
13:43Jim Hollis didn't plan this. I did.
13:46Doc Bell.
13:48Let's go, boys.
13:49Wait a minute.
13:51Got it?
13:52Come on!
14:13He's hurt pretty bad, Doc.
14:14Well, lay him down over here and get my bag.
14:36How bad is he, Doc?
14:38No bones broken.
14:40He's lost some blood and the bullet's still in there.
14:43Look, I know you're squeamish. Curly, you don't have to help.
14:53This is no job for an amateur.
14:55We'll see who's an amateur.
14:57Why don't you let me take him into town?
14:59Nobody knows me.
15:00We can get him a real doctor.
15:03If the gangrene sets in that arm of yours, Tibbs, you're gonna lose it.
15:06Or maybe your life with it.
15:08Hey, he's right, Doc.
15:09Just take me to the edge of town and dump me.
15:12I'll make my way to a doctor.
15:15You still don't believe me, do you?
15:18During the war, I handled as many as 50 gunshot wounds in a single day.
15:23Now just hold him so he doesn't jump.
15:31When I saw the manner in which Doc Bell operated on Tibbs' mercy,
15:35I knew then he'd told the truth when he said he was a doctor.
15:38For here was a surgeon at work.
15:49There it is.
15:505,000 for each of you.
15:53Boy, ain't that pretty.
15:55You know, as ugly as you are, Tibbs,
15:57them dance hall girls in Dodge will be fighting over you.
16:01You know, it seems a shame in a way, doesn't it, Jim?
16:05How do you mean?
16:06This money represents a month's wages
16:08for all the miners who work by the sweat of their bodies.
16:11Curly here will spend his trying to make eight the hard way.
16:14Tibbs has a weakness for women.
16:19Not me.
16:21I'm not gonna spread mine around.
16:23You listen to him, man.
16:24Jim reasons things out.
16:27His money will be harder than the milled tail of Hades.
16:30I'm gonna spend mine while I'm still young enough to enjoy it.
16:33You might not ever get the chance.
16:34Well, I'm gonna give it a try.
16:37Wells Fargo's got the serial number of every bill here.
16:40They're just hoping we'll start spending them.
16:42You seem to know an awful lot about it.
16:45It's not the first time I've robbed them.
16:47How do you think I wound up in jail?
16:49Suppose you worry about you and let me take care of myself.
16:53The love of money is the root of all evil.
16:56I never knew you to have any objections to it before, Doc.
16:59I refer to the love of money, not money per se.
17:02That fancy talk don't go down anymore.
17:06Pearls before swine, Jim.
17:09Me, I've got a healthy respect for a Wells Fargo detective himself.
17:14We're not finished yet, you know, Doc.
17:16As far as I'm concerned, we are.
17:18Curley's talking about the money we got coming from the Marysville job.
17:22Maybe you were thinking of running out on us, eh, Doc?
17:25You believe that, Tibbs?
17:28Well, Curley says.
17:30You listen to Curley and you'll wind up in jail.
17:33You know what that means, Tibbs?
17:35They give you a cell six feet wide and ten feet long.
17:38I've seen men, big men, strong men like yourself,
17:42start beating their head against the wall out of sheer loneliness.
17:46You stay out of this, Jim.
17:48What you do with your cut of this last job is your own business.
17:50We're talking about something else.
17:52Don't you think I better keep it for you? You'll spend this and need more.
17:55No, we want it now.
17:58All right. But it's not here, you know.
18:00I know that. We almost tore the place apart hunting it.
18:04Sounds like they don't trust you, Doc.
18:06It's got to be hid somewhere close by. They picked you up at the foot of the mountain.
18:09I'll have to go into town to get it.
18:12You mean you hid it in town?
18:14The obvious is sometimes the most advantageous. Right, Jim?
18:17Leave me out of it, Doc.
18:19I've got all that's coming to me right here.
18:21I had no part of the Marysville job.
18:23I might have had you wrong all along, Jim. I guess I did.
18:26I thought you were declaring yourself in for a cut of that Marysville money.
18:30Forget it, Curley. You had grounds for suspicion.
18:41Goodbye, Jim.
18:44It's not goodbye. It's just so long.
18:47I've got a hunch we'll all get together again real soon.
18:53All right, now let's go get that money.
18:56Let's go.
19:05Doc wasn't about to lead those men to the money, and I knew it.
19:10There was one way in and one way out of town.
19:13I figured him to be using the way out.
19:26Let's go.
19:42We'd better not go through town together. It'll attract too much attention.
19:45You boys wait here.
19:46You go ahead, Doc, but don't try anything.
19:49Because if you do, there's not a rock big enough for you to hide under.
19:57What if somebody spots them?
19:59We'll hear the shots. If that happens, we head back to the mountain.
20:05You sure are taking a long time.
20:07Shut up.
20:08How much longer do we have to wait?
20:10I said shut up.
20:21Are you going to the mountains?
20:24Are you going somewhere, Doc?
20:26You disappoint me, Jim.
20:28I hardly expected you to rob a friend.
20:31And what are you doing?
20:33I told you before, they're acquaintances.
20:35Now I've got to disappoint you.
20:37You see, I haven't got the money.
20:43Gives you the idea I'm after your money.
20:45That's your idea.
20:47Then why wait here like this?
20:50You're a smart man, Doc.
20:52I'm not exactly stupid.
20:54Together we could make a great team.
20:57With you cutting in on the Marysville money?
20:59No.
21:00Only what we earn.
21:02Together.
21:04We could go a long way.
21:06Clear across the Rio Grande, Jim.
21:09You really mean that?
21:10You really don't want any of that bank hold for yourself?
21:13That much I'll swear to.
21:17Then let's go get it.
21:22Let's go.
21:52Let's go.
22:10Sometimes the obvious has the most advantage.
22:15They've been walking over this for more than six months.
22:19There's no substitute for brains, Jim.
22:23Let's go.
22:31We're not making any deals this time, Doc.
22:33It's you and the money.
22:35Stay with me all the way, Jim, and we'll split down the middle.
22:37We got no quarrel with you, Jim.
22:39Climb on your horse and go.
22:45All we can do is wait till nightfall.
22:47He's not going to wait till then.
22:49There's a chance I can outsmart him.
22:51Hurley!
22:53You already got, Doc?
22:56I've got no business in this quarrel. I'm coming out.
23:20That split still goes, Jim.
23:23No, it doesn't, Doc.
23:25I'll take it all.
23:28I knew I couldn't trust those scum, but I prided myself on my judgment of you.
23:32I thought you were honest.
23:34And you were right.
23:35My name's Jim Hardy.
23:37I work for Wells Fargo.
23:40I'm not going to let you get away with this, Jim.
23:42I'm not going to let you get away with this, Jim.
23:44I'm not going to let you get away with this, Jim.
23:46I work for Wells Fargo.
23:50Well, I'll be your monkey's uncle.
24:02Doc Bell was returned to Angels Island to serve the remainder of his 12 years,
24:07with five more added on.
24:09I recommended to the authorities he be allowed to practice medicine inside the prison,
24:14and in later years, his fame as a surgeon spread throughout California
24:18and the rest of this country.
24:20For the 17 years he spent in prison, he performed many operations,
24:24both inside and on special occasions,
24:27he gave added life to those on the outside.
24:30Doc Bell.
24:32This was his story.